Kultivating community

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This article was published 21/08/2023 (1163 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A festival dedicated to Filipino community-building has grown exponentially in its second year.

Kultivation Festival — which kicks off today and runs until Sunday — has expanded from two days and a dozen activities to a full week of programming featuring more than 30 different artistic, cultural and educational events.

“We’ve had almost 100 per cent of the people that were involved last year participate again this year,” festival executive director Allan Pineda says.

“It’s pretty crazy.”

The Kultivation concept was launched by a group of local entrepreneurs in 2019 as a way to connect the city’s large and diverse Filipino community through food, music, art and dance. At the last national census, more than 80,000 Winnipeg residents were of Filipino descent — the largest per capita population of any major Canadian city.

“Although the Filipino community is huge and there’s a lot of us, in ways it’s still segregated,” Pineda says. “Young people, old people, people born in Canada, people born in the Philippines — how do you get all those people working together?”

While planning for the festival was forced to pause amid the pandemic, the inaugural event last August successfully tapped into a desire for collaboration and mentorship.

“You had people who didn’t even know each other and now they’re working together. So far, it’s working splendidly,” Pineda says.

Over the next seven days, events will be held at venues across the city, including many at Pineda’s Bahay Kubo restaurant in the Exchange District. While food, art, music and dance remain tenets of the festival, a slate of educational workshops has been added to the program.

On Tuesday, a panel of leaders in health care will gather to share insights from their careers and on Sunday, Sen. Gigi Osler, the first Filipina-Canadian appointed to the Senate, will take part in a fireside chat hosted by the Manitoba Filipino Business Council. Returning events include a lumpia-eating contest at Tyndall Park Community Centre and speciality beer launch in collaboration with One Great City Brewing.

Keep reading for a sample of the offerings at this year’s Kultivation Festival. Visit kultivationfestival.com for more information.

Food

Rice and Mysticism

Sunday, 7 p.m.

Tito Boy Restaurant, 730 St. Anne’s Rd.

Join Edmonton-based chef and Food Network Canada competitor Earl Briones for a three-course fine-dining tasting menu served with ample storytelling. Through his Rice and Mysticism dinner series, Briones explores Filipino cuisine and heritage with pre-colonial methods of food preparation and flavouring. Tickets are $65 at Eventbrite.ca.

Art

Tell Me When The Time Has Come

Friday, 6-9 p.m.

Bahay Kubo Restaurant, 48 Albert St.

This immersive audio-visual film exhibit invites viewers to engage with the story of Lolo as he revisits memories with family members during his final days. Told through short videos on multiple screens, the exhibit highlights varied stages of life from childhood to old age. Free.

Music

Déjà Vu: Under the Sun

Saturday, 7 p.m. to midnight

Tavern United Downtown, 345 Graham Ave.

Head to the Tavern United rooftop for a dance party hosted by DJ collective nu_bounce. The evening promises to be an exploration of R&B eras and evolutions, from slow jams to neo-soul to hip-hop. Tickets start at $20 at Eventbrite.

Dance

Duwelo

Sunday, 6:30-10 p.m.

The Royal Albert, 48 Albert St.

Learn the basics of breaking during an hour-long beginner workshop taught by b-boys Majo and Jwreck, followed by a one-on-one dance battle featuring local dancers. Music provided by DJ Majuice and local band NYOH (Not Your Ordinary Hooligans). Admission $15.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @evawasney

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